SEPTEMBER 13 - LONDON 2012 paid the British Olympic Association £20 million for the marketing rights to the iconic interlocking five-rings and have so far sold them for more than ten times that figure, newly published accounts have revealed.

 

The BOA was required by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to sign away their rights to the rings and other Olympic symbols, such as the torch, flame and flag, under the joint marketing agreement (JMA) that all National Olympic Committees have to agree too if their country is awarded the Games.

 

That means that London 2012 now own the highly-valuable intellectual property and have exclusive rights to them in Britain.

 

The rings, coloured blue, yellow, black, green, and red on a white field, were originally designed in 1912 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games and are now among the most recognisable symbols in the world, regularly coming out on top in surveys.

 

London 2012 have signed a series of big-money sponsorship deals with a number of blue-chip companies, including tier-one contracts with British Airways, BT, Nortel, EDF Energy, Adidas and Lloyds TSB, amounting, accounts filed at Companies House reveal, to £317 million giving these companies exclusive rights to use the rings in Britain.

 

In the accounts, London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton said that they hope to have achieved two-thirds of its target of £750 million towards helping to pay for the staging of the Games by the end of the next financial year.

 

London 2012 have fiercely protected their exclusivity of the rings, including even writing to the BOA after its chairman Colin Moynihan launched a new initiative with FTSE-100 companies to remind them that any sponsorship deals struck could not have Olympic rights attached.

 

Moynihan, who took over at the BOA after negotiations had been concluded with London 2012,  is reportedly unhappy with the amount that they are receiving for the rights and is hoping to open talks with Deighton over getting more.

 

Moynihan will warn Deighton and Sebastian Coe, the chairman of London 2012, that the performances of Britain's athletes in London could be compromised unless they are able to raise more money, something he will claim they are unable to do because they do not have anything to sell to potential sponsors.

 

This fear was confirmed by management consultants AT Kearney in a recent review ordered by Moynihan.

 

They warned that “success at 2012 is under threat” unless the BOA can significantly increase revenues to fund their planned programme between now and then.

 

As insidethegames revealed exclusively in June, multi-millionaire Moynihan needed to loan the BOA £250,000 last year as it lost £1.3 million.

 

The London 2012 accounts also reveal that Deighton received a bonus of £104,000 last year and a total of £557,440.

 

Deighton, who left Goldman Sachs to take up his role at London 2012, will be in line for a windfall payment of £300,000 on top of his salary if he remains in his role until March next year.

 

Deighton, who is worth £110 million according to the Sunday Times rich list, will receive a similar bonus if he stays until 2012.

 

Sebastian Coe receives an annual salary of £285,000 as chairman while finance director Neil Wood is the third highest earner on £260,000.

 

Olympic triple jump champion Jonathan Edwards was paid £87,000 for sports consultancy services on top of his £7,000 pay as a board member.

 

The world record-holder was recently appointed as deputy chairman of the London 2012 Nations and Regions Group, which are tasked with making sure that cities, towns and counties outside the capital are engaged in the Olympics.

 

The Canary Wharf-based organisation employs 175 staff on a total wage bill of £11.1million.

 

A third of London's forecast budget of £2 billion is coming from a broadcast deal with the IOC.